


Moon Light

by elena82



Category: Cinderella (2015)
Genre: F/F, For Milflover07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-05-20 00:45:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14884394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elena82/pseuds/elena82
Summary: Cinderella gets caught playing the piano and is surprised by her stepmother's reaction





	1. Ch 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Milflover07](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milflover07/gifts).



   The sun woke Cinderella up early on a bright May morning.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She pulled on her pink bathrobe-a hand-me-down of Drusilla’s-and looked outside.   She smiled as she looked out the window.  She grabbed a box from the closet and scurried downstairs.

 

A week before, Cinderella had been cleaning the salon. Her stepmother and stepsisters were out of the house, much to her delight. Her stepsisters were in town visiting friends and her stepmother was shopping. She had the house to herself for a while.   She cleaned the bookshelves and dusted the piano. She ran her fingers over the black and white ivory keys, itching to play.   Her mother taught her before her death, then a governess.   Her stepmother taught her daughters but Cinderella never lost her love for music.   _No one will know_ she thought and sat on the bench.

 

She began to play _Moonlight Sonata_ , which she was her favorite. The music filled the room and washed over  her like a mist.

 

Applause erupted behind her. Cinderella nearly had a heart attack as she whipped around and saw the tall, haughty figure of her stepmother.

 

  “Well,” she smirked, “are the chores done so you have time to play the piano?”

 

Cinderella turned nearly as white as the piano keys. “Yes, madam. I mean, I still have to make dinner. I was just taking a break.”

 

Her stepmother walked towards her. Ella shrank back. “I suppose you are allowed to take a break once in a while,” she said.

 

Ella bit her lip. She looked up at her stepmother with terrified dark eyes. Her stepmother looked down at her through hooded eyes. Ella trembled, too afraid to speak. Lady Tremaine put her hands on both sides of Ella’s face and looked straight into her eyes.

 

“Come to my room after dinner. And only play the piano when the girls aren’t here.”   Ella could only nod.    Lady Tremaine let go of her and marched out of the room without a backward glance.

 

After dinner, Cinderella went to her stepmother’s room as ordered. She shook like a leaf in a thunderstorm as she raised her thin hand and knocked on the door.

 

“Come in!”

 

She opened the door and slid in, closing the door behind her. Her stepmother sat at her vanity with her hair down. Her blue eyes sparkled maliciously.

 

“Come here,” she ordered.

 

She watched Cinderella in the mirror shyly approach, like a condemned prisoner on her way to the gallows. Cinderella looked at herself in the mirror.   Her face deathly white and her dark eyes huge.   Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird in her chest. She clenched her hands to try to stop them trembling.  Her stepmother stood up and Cinderella reflexively took a step back. She repressed the urge to flee.

 

“Well, young lady, it seems I’ve been neglecting your musical talents,” her stepmother said, smirking.  She took Cinderella’s trembling hands in her own. Her eyes looked less malicious, although not what Cinderella would call kind.

 

“I’m sorry, Stepmother, it’s just-“ Lady Tremaine put her hand on Cinderella’s mouth. Cinderella shut up at once.

 

“It was a pleasant surprise, actually, to hear the piano being played correctly. I don’t want you to practice when the girls are here, but when they are not, you will be working on this.”   She handed Cinderella some sheet music of a piece from _Sleeping Beauty_. Cinderella looked down at it.   It was way above her skill level.   But she wouldn’t admit it.

 

“This may take me a while to learn.” Her stepmother smirked even more. “I know that, silly. But you are going to work on it as much as possible. Understand?”

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

"Help me get ready for bed.” Ella blushed and looked away.

 

Lately, helping her stepmother get ready for bed sent electric jolts through her spine to her…..

 

“I don’t have all night,” Lady Tremaine snapped. Cinderella obediently began to unbutton the back of her dress. It pooled to the floor as she began unlacing the corset.   Unlacing the corset always took a while and Cinderella found her mind wondering.

 

 “What’s your favorite piano piece?” she asked.   She looked up at her stepmother, wondering if she would answer, ignore her or just smack her for asking.   Her stepmother looked down at her with cool blue eyes.   Cinderella looked away.

 

“The one I gave you to learn.”

 

Cinderella looked up in surprise. “Really? Well, I will do my best to learn it to your satisfaction.”

 

Lady Tremaine sat down, now wearing only her sky blue chemise.   It covered the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips. Cinderella didn’t dare look up as she unlaced her.  She felt her critical eyes on her neck.   She glanced up after shoes were off and got a good look at her stepmother’s hands.    _Piano player hands_ , she thought.  Elegant and with long fingers. _No wonder she can play the piano so gracefully._

 

“What are you thinking, child?” her stepmother asked.

 

“Your hands,” Cinderella said. “They are so perfect for playing the piano.” She fleetingly touched her stepmother’s fingers. “Such long fingers.” 

 

 Lady Tremaine took Cinderella’s thin hands in her own. “You have piano fingers too, Ella. And musical talent. Learn that piece I gave you.” 

 

 Cinderella’s eyes widened. The last time her stepmother called her by her real name was before her father died.   Impulsively, she brushed her lips against her stepmother’s white hands.  She looked up, ashen and in wide-eyed terror.

 

“I’m sorry, Madam,” she whispered. “It-I”

 

“It’s all right,” her stepmother said, like a queen gracing a felon for stealing a loaf of bread. She smirked down at her terrified, trembling stepdaughter.

 

“You know,” Lady Tremaine said as she ran a finger along Ella’s shoulder and down her arm,  “I’ve noticed this dress is threadbare.   You need another one and none of the girl’s clothes fit you anymore. I think I need to take you to the dress maker to have something made.”

“The dressmaker?” Ella repeated in shock. “You’re going to have a dress made for me?”

 

“Nothing fancy, of course, but you need something better than that thing.” Her stepmother pointed to her dress, which was indeed threadbare and frayed.   Threads stuck out of the seams.   

Cinderella practically jumped up. “Oh thank you Step-Madam!”

Lady Tremaine waved her hand graciously and stood up. “Be ready to go early tomorrow morning.”

 

Without thinking, Cinderella kissed her stepmother’s cheek. “I will! Thank you, Stepmother!” She danced out of the room, only to realize what she did when she walked into her tower room.    _She didn’t seem to mind,_ Cinderella thought.  _She is always kinder when the girls aren’t home._

 

Downstairs, Lady Tremaine touched her cheek. She could still feel Cinderella’s lips on it. _Such an angel,_ she thought. _I hate I have to treat her like I do_.

 

She smiled at the thought of spending an entire day in town with Cinderella alone.


	2. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinderella and Lady Tremaine both surprise each other.

Cinderella scurried downstairs with her box. She put the tea kettle on to boil and made some cream of wheat the way her stepmother liked it, with lumps of brown sugar. She carefully arranged the tea, cream of wheat and silverware on a tray next to her box and went upstairs. 

She kicked the door as way of knocking. “Come in!” her stepmother’s husky voice ordered.

“Good morning, Stepmother!” she greeted cheerfully. 

“Morning,” her stepmother replied, still somewhat tired. 

Cinderella smiled and brought the breakfast tray over to the bed. She gently set it down on the bedside table and pulled the box out.

Her stepmother finally noticed something was off in the daily routine. “What is that?” she asked.

Cinderella smiled shyly. “It-it’s a present for you. To thank you for getting me a new dress.”

Surprised blue eyes looked into her dark ones. “A present for me?”

Cinderella sat down on the bed. It was the first time she had ever done this, but she sensed the walls surrounding her stepmother were cracking. Soon they might even crumble for good. She handed the box to Lady Tremaine. 

“Open it,” she said excitedly.

Her stepmother looked at her slightly suspiciously. Cinderella smiled. “Open it,” she said again. “I promise it’s not a snake or anything!”

Her stepmother opened the box. Inside were a pair of dangling earrings embedded with blue stones. The shopkeeper had told Cinderella they were real sapphires but she doubted it. More likely they were blue glass. Either way, they were beautiful. They matched her stepmother’s eyes.

Lady Tremaine looked at Cinderella with stunned blue eyes. “How on earth did you afford these?”

Cinderella blushed. “Well, they aren’t brand new. Sometimes you let me keep the change when I go shopping and I saved it . I was going to give you these for Christmas, but….” she shrugged. “I wanted to give them to you when you stopped hating me.”

Her stepmother’s eyes widened. “Hate you? You think I hate you?”

Cinderella nodded. “Well maybe not quite hate but dislike. I understand though. My father died and left you with me. You didn’t ask for me.”

Lady Tremaine took one of Cinderella’s hands. “That wasn’t your fault. I was grief stricken and had to think about my girls. But I promise you, Ella, I never hated or even disliked you. I was just overwhelmed and you were so eager to please I just let you.”

Cinderella smiled weakly. 

“Well,” her stepmother said. “Go get changed and eat something. I’m going to eat breakfast. I’ll be ready for you to help me into my corset in about twenty minutes.”

“Yes, step-madam,” Cinderella said and turned to get up. A hand grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at her stepmother with scared dark eyes. She was afraid she was going to be accused of stealing the earrings or something. 

“Wear that necklace of your mother’s,” Lady Tremaine told her. “I want to get you a decent dress today and I want it to match that.”

This was perhaps the most surprising statement her stepmother ever said. Nobody ever mentioned Cinderella’s mother. Her father never even brought her up. It was as if her mother never existed. On the anniversary of her death, Cinderella would bring flowers to her grave. That evening her stepmother would treat her marginally more kindly but that was the extent of any acknowledgment that Cinderella had a biological mother.

Lady Tremaine smirked at her stepdaughter’s amusement. “What’s wrong, child? Did you lose the necklace?”

Cinderella shook her head. “No ma’am. I’ll go get changed and be back in a few minutes.” 

Lady Tremaine looked at the earrings thoughtfully after her stepdaughter left. Her heart hurt for her. She had always liked Ella, even loved her but she could never show it too much because her own daughters got so jealous. But who could hate Cinderella? Beautiful, sweet, brilliant. Lady Tremaine knew she snuck books out of the library to read in her tower room. 

“Ready?” Cinderella asked a bit later. She wore her least raggedy blue dress, which set off her dark eyes spectacularly. As ordered, she wore her mother’s necklace. Amethysts set in silver. Cinderella liked to pretend the silver was white gold. She doubted it was even real silver. More likely steel.

She helped her stepmother into her corset. A slight blush brushed her cheeks when her stepmother stood before her in just her shift. She quickly slipped behind her and laced her up.

“Let’s go,” her stepmother said after she was dressed. Cinderella followed her out to the carriage. Tall, regal, beautiful. Cinderella knew why she couldn’t hate her stepmother. She was head-over-heels in love with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinderella continues to be surprised by her stepmother. For Milflover07

     They set off to the village in the bright morning sun.    Lady Tremaine didn’t mention Cinderella’s necklace or the earrings she had given her, but Cinderella noticed she was wearing them.      She kept sneaking glances at her stepmother, wondering why she was suddenly treating her better.

     Not yelling at her for playing the piano….

       Getting her a new dress…..

        Not sneering at the gift Cinderella got for her….

         Telling her to wear her mother’s necklace.

        _It’s like she is becoming human,_ Cinderella thought.

     In the village, Cinderella automatically turned to the left, to the cheaper dressmaker’s.   Lady Tremaine grabbed her arm.

    “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.   “I said we are going to get you a decent dress.”

     She steered the bewildered girl to Madame Vêtements shop.    Cinderella looked at Stepmother, stunned.   This was the finest dress shop in the village.    Stepmother just walked in without a glance at her stepdaughter.

        « We need a new dress for her, « Lady Tremaine announced, waving a hand at her bewildered stepdaughter.   

       Madame Vêtements pretended she wasn’t shocked. The whole kingdom knew how the woman treated her stepdaughter. “Yes, madam,” she said and ushered them into the back for measurements.

     Cinderella went behind the screen and got undressed down to her sky-blue chemise.   Her stepmother sat on the couch, observing and smirking.  Cinderella blushed slightly as she climbed up on the stool.   She had never been so exposed before.   Especially not in front of her stepmother.

      The dressmaker measured her legs, her waist, her arms, and her chest.   Cinderella blushed even more.   She dared to flick her eyes to her stepmother.   Her stepmother gave her a smile. Or a smirk-she couldn’t quite tell.

    “Nothing extremely fancy, of course,” her stepmother said.   “But she needs something better than that threadbare thing she has on.   Something that will last a while.”

     “Yes, madame,” the dressmaker said as she jotted down Cinderella’s measurements. “What color?”

     Lady Tremaine’s cool blue eyes looked Cinderella up and down.   Ella looked away.   Her stepmother smirked.   “The same color as her chemise, I think,” she said coolly. “That color brings out her eyes.”

      Ella looked at her stepmother but she couldn’t read any emotion.   Finally, she was allowed to get dressed.

    Outside, Ella automatically turned right but her stepmother grabbed her arm again.   “I want some tea before we go home,” she told her and steered her into a small tavern.

     “Tea for me,” she told the boy behind the counter.   She paused and looked Cinderella up and down.   Cinderella looked away.   She thought she would get some water. “And a bowl of chicken soup for her,” Lady Tremaine order for her stepdaughter.

      Cinderella looked up, astonished. “S-s-soup? For me?”

      Her stepmother waved her to a table.    “Yes. I didn’t realize how thin you had gotten until I saw you in your chemise.”

        Cinderella blushed at the memory of standing before her stepmother half-naked.

     Stepmother smirked.   “You look like a starved little starling,” her stepmother continued. “You need to eat more. And better.”

     “Um, thank you,” Cinderella said, more bewildered than ever.    _She IS becoming human,_ she thought to herself.

     “Eat, child,”  her stepmother said when the soup arrived.

     Cinderella began to eat.   She tried to eat politely, but it was already two in the afternoon and all she had for breakfast was a slice of bread.  She ate enthusiastically.

     “Goodness, child,” Stepmother said as she watched Cinderella wolf down her lunch, “are you really that hungry?”

      “It’s just late in the day,” Cinderella said between mouthfuls.  She would never complain to her stepmother.  _Never._    Not when she had so much power over her.   She could make her clean for 12 hours at a time if she wanted, without a break.   She could take away her meager food allotment.   Lady Tremaine literally had power of life and death over Cinderella.

    “Thank you for the soup,” Cinderella said politely as they walked down the path out of town. “And the dress! It’s-”

     “You’re welcome,” Stepmother interrupted coolly.   Cinderella recognized the warning signs and promptly shut up.   

     “The girls are out for the day,” Stepmother said after a few steps.   “They won’t be back until late tonight or tomorrow.   I think we will have a piano lesson this evening.”

     Cinderella smiled. “Sounds great.”

      They passed by the woods.   The woods were not a safe place at night, but were fine to walk along in the daylight.   Cinderella had never walked through the woods, however.   Whenever she thought about doing so, a voice warned her not to.   She tried and tried to remember if she had ever heard the voice in real life but could not.   Often she wondered if the voice was her mother’s, but she could not remember what her mother’s voice sounded like either.

      A loud crash made both Cinderella and Lady Tremaine jump.   Reflexively, Cinderella grabbed her stepmother’s arm.   Four men emerged from the woods and surrounded them. 

       “Out for a stroll, ladies?” a man asked.    He was wearing a green coat.   The other were wearing brown.   All were unshaven and all carried swords.   

      Cinderella was too terrified to answer.

      Her stepmother snapped, “let us pass! We have done you no harm.” 

      The man in green laughed unpleasantly.   He held his sword to Cinderella’s throat.   “All your money, madame.   Or you will see what harm is.”

      Cinderella’s petrified dark eyes met her stepmother’s blue ones.   Her stepmother opened her purse and handed the man all the money inside.  “Is this all?” he said, annoyed. “Guess we will have to take the rest.”

     Two men held Lady Tremaine down while the other two held Cinderella down.   The man in green lay on top of her and yanked her stockings and underwear down.    Cinderella tried to kick but the man on top of her forced her legs apart.

      “Stop!” Lady Tremaine screamed. “Don’t hurt her!”   

      One of the men clamped his hand over her mouth.

      “One more sound and I’ll slit both of your throats,” the man in green snarled. 

     He forced himself inside her.   White hot pain shot up through Cinderella’s body.   She tried to scream but her mouth was covered.   After a few thrusts, the man came on her stomach.

     “Virgins,” he sneered. “Never very good.    Make me come too soon.”

    The other men laughed.

     “Don’t bother with that one,” the man said as he stood up and buttoned his pants.    “Too tight. And that one-” he gestured towards Lady Tremaine, “is too old.  Let’s go to the other side of the woods and wait for better.”

    They all walked off laughing.   Lady Tremaine helped her stepdaughter up.    She wiped off the man’s semen and threw the soiled undergarments in a ditch.

     Cinderella could barely move.   Her stepmother kept one arm around her waist as she helped her inch along the road.   

    “We’re almost there,” she said as they walked around the bend in the road.   Each step was agonizing torture for Cinderella.   

     Lady Tremaine helped her up the stairs and into her own bedroom.   “I need to take this off,” she said and began to unbutton Cinderella’s dress.   She took a pair of scissors and cut the girl’s chemise off, rather then have her raise her arms.

     “Here,” she said and wrapped her bathrobe around the pale, trembling girl. “I’ll be right back.”

     She hurried to the kitchen for a basin of water and a few towels.   Cinderella still hadn’t moved when Lady Tremaine came back.   Her face was an expression of shock and devastation.   Lady Tremaine gently led the girl to her bed and made her lie down.   She washed her stepdaughter’s chalk-white face.

      “I have to wash your legs,” she said.   “Is that all right?”

    Cinderella nodded.   

     Lady Tremaine was shocked at the amount of blood on Cinderella’s legs.    Bruises were beginning to form.   Blood flowed down her legs.   Lady Tremaine washed it off as quickly and gently as she could.

    “Stepmother,” Cinderella said.

    Lady Tremaine looked up.

     Cinderella tried to say something, but could not.   She began to sob.   She covered her face with her dirty hands and cried.

Her stepmother sat beside her and pulled the sobbing girl into her arms and held her tight.    She rubbed her back with one hand and held her head with the other. She rocked Cinderella back and forth as she wept, her body racked with pain.   Cinderella could not remember, but her stepmother had once held her like this before.   The day her father died.

    “Shhhh,” Lady Tremaine soothed as she rocked her stepdaughter. “Shhh.   It wasn’t your fault.   I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”   She kissed the top of Cinderella’s fair head.

    Cinderella eventually cried herself out.  She lay in her stepmother’s arms, trying to calm down.   Her stepmother just held her and stroked her hair.   Cinderella began to wonder if her stepmother had completed her human transformation.

    _I’m glad she doesn’t hate me,_ she thought.

     “Stepmother,” she whispered.   She looked up her stepmother with red-rimmed, puffy eyes.    “Stepmother, will you stay with me tonight? I mean, can I stay in here with you?”

     “Of course,” Lady Tremaine answered.   “Ella, this was not your fault. I hope you understand that.”

     Cinderella was too exhausted to reply.   She was too tired to even roll out of her stepmother’s arms.   And it was kind of nice to be held like that.

     She eventually drifted to sleep in her stepmother’s arms. But Stepmother did not. She tried to think of a way to catch the men who had done this to her beloved stepdaughter.  There most like was not.   They had probably moved on to the next kingdom, knowing that they would be recognized if they remained there.

     “Oh, Ella,” she said to the girl sleeping in her arms. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. But I will keep you safe from now on.”


	4. Ch 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cinderella recovers from being assaulted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been working on getting this done by Valentine's Day. Enjoy!

     Cinderella woke up to find herself asleep in her stepmother’s arms.    She was confused at first, then she remembered what happened the day before.   She was still very sore and could barely move. _She let me sleep in her bed,_ Cinderella thought. _Maybe she has become human._

     “How are you feeling?” her stepmother asked.

    Cinderella jumped. She didn’t know Stepmother was awake.

     “Sore,” she replied. That was the only word she could say.   She felt so incredibly violated, as if her body wasn’t hers anymore.   Her stepmother gently laid one hand on her hair.  That was all it took for Cinderella to burst into tears. 

     Lady Tremaine held the girl while she sobbed.   She didn’t say a word to her, just rubbed her back and kept one hand on her head.  Cinderella kept her face hidden in the crook of her stepmother’s neck.  She wasn’t sure how long this new understanding stepmother would last.   She looked up at her stepmother with puffy, red eyes.

    “Stepmother,” she whispered. “Stepmother, I’m so glad you don’t hate me anymore. I couldn’t bear it if you did after...after….”

     Lady Tremaine tightened her grip around Cinderella’s thin body.   Ella burst into tears again.

    “Shhhh,” her stepmother said. “Calm down, Ella.  I don’t hate you.  I never hated you.”

     Lady Tremaine sat up and pushed Ella down so her head was on her chest.    She wrapped her arms around the girl, one hand in her hair and the other on her back. “I am so, so sorry, Ella.  I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you yesterday.”

     Ella couldn’t believe how safe she felt in her stepmother’s arms.   It was surreal that the woman she was terrified of the day before was the only one she felt safe with now.  The thought of anyone else touching her repulsed her, but her stepmother’s gentle caresses were comforting.  She tucked herself as close to her stepmother as she could.  She looked up into once cruel blue eyes. Now those blue eyes were concerned and sad.

    “I love you,” she whispered.  “I have always loved you.” She kissed the crook of her stepmother’s arm.

    “I love you too,” Lady Tremaine said. ‘Even though I wasn’t the best at expressing it.”

    Cinderella burst into tears again.

                                    ________________________________________________

 

 

    Lady Tremaine told her daughters what had happened to Cinderella.  They may have liked teasing her and bossing her around, but like their mother, they were appalled she had been so hurt.   They took over the housework while Cinderella recovered.

   Lady Tremaine took her into the salon and made her practice the piano for hours each day.   Cinderella found playing the piano helped because it focused her mind.  When she was focused on the piano, she was thinking about being assaulted.

    “Sit up!” her stepmother snapped at her. “No slouching!”

     Cinderella made her back ramrod straight. Lady Tremaine paced around, scowling at Cinderella as she played _Moon Light Sonata_ and then the piece from _Sleeping Beauty_.   She had made remarkable progress on both.

    “Hmmm,” Lady Tremaine said as she eyed her stepdaughter critically.   She circled her like a vulture. Cinderella bit her lip. Her stepmother had been more human with her since the rape but she was still her.

   Lady Tremaine stopped right in front of Cinderella and looked down at her through hooded eyes.  Ella smiled nervously. 

    “That was beautiful, Ella,” Stepmother said softly.

     Ella looked up, surprised.   Her stepmother almost never gave her a compliment.   She blushed slightly. “Thank you,” she replied.

     Her stepmother actually smiled back.

 

    Cinderella found that after the assault she couldn’t be alone.   At first, her stepmother let her sleep in a large overstuffed arm chair in her room.   Cinderella would curl up under a large comforter and drift off to sleep. Only to have her stepmother shake her awake later, screaming from nightmares.

   After a few nights of that, Lady Tremaine said, “just get in the bed.  It’ll save me from having to walk over to the chair.”

   “Yes ma’am,” Cinderella said, surprised once more.  True, her stepmother was being more human lately, but she was still, well, Lady Tremaine. 

     She slid beneath the covers and tried to sleep.  But she couldn’t.   She tossed and turned and kept kicking her stepmother.

    “Ella!” Lady Tremaine barked. “Lay still and go to sleep! And stop kicking me!”

    “I’m sorry!” Cinderella apologized at once.

    “It’s just every time I close my eyes, I see...” she trailed off, unable to say what she saw in her head every time her eyes closed.

    Lady Tremaine sighed. She sat up and lit a few candles.  She looked down sideways at her trembling stepdaughter, who was barely able to contain her tears.

    “I know, Ella,” she said. “It’s going to take some time.” She pulled Cinderella to her. She pushed Ella’s head on to her chest and kept her arms protectively around her head and back, as if she could protect her from her nightmares.

    She gently stroked the fair hair. “It will take time,” Lady Tremaine repeated.

 

   That was their routine for the next several weeks.   Cinderella gradually tried to get back into the swing of the household routine, but everything made her jump. She was startled by the smallest noise and often would drop or break something.   Her stepmother would glare at her but didn’t punish her like she used to.  She knew Ella was trying.   

   After lunch, she would give Ella her piano lesson.   Ella was a fast learner and showed rapid improvement. She could now play _Moonlight Sonata_ flawlessly and the _Sleeping Beauty_ piece almost as well.  She loved playing the piano because it focused her mind.  And her stepmother was always pleased when she did well. 

    At night, Cinderella needed to be near her stepmother the most.   She would cuddle with her stepmother before falling asleep.   Sometimes Lady Tremaine would read to her.  Nightmares would still cause her to wake up screaming, but less so than immediately after the attack.

    “I have an idea,” Stepmother said one night. “What if I touched you? That way you wouldn’t associate all touch with the rape.”

   “Touch me?” Cinderella asked confused. “You hold me when I wake up screaming. You touch me all the time.”

    “Not that kind of touch,” Stepmother replied. “Here give me you arm.”

      Not daring to say no, Cinderella held out her left arm. Stepmother massaged her arms, varying pressure in response to Cinderella’s wincing. Then she did the same with the other. She worked her way up Cinderella’s thin legs. Cinderella began to shake.

    "It’s okay, love. I won’t hurt you,” Stepmother said.   She smiled or smirked, Ella couldn’t quite tell which.   

    She massaged each of Cinderella’s legs up to her hips. She stopped or lessened the pressure when Cinderella flinched or cried out.

    “See, that wasn’t so bad,” Lady Tremaine said when she finished. Cinderella had to agree that it was not.

 

   Lady Tremaine continued the same regiment all week.  She caressed Cinderella’s arms, massaged her neck and back, squeezed her legs and rubbed her feet.  She was trying to get Cinderella comfortable with touch.   One night, after being massaged, Cinderella dared to lean up and kiss her stepmother on the cheek.

   “Thank you, Stepmother.”

   “For what, child?” her stepmother asked with a smirk.

    “For-for everything,” Cinderella said hoarsely. “I love you.”   She took her stepmother’s hand in her own and brushed her lips against her goddess’s fingers.

    “I love you,” she whispered again.

    “And I love you.   I think you might be ready for Phase II of our little program.”

    She brought Ella’s arm to her body, but instead of squeezing it, she kissed her inner wrist.   She planted soft, small kisses to Cinderella elbow.   Then she kissed the other arm the same way.  She gently kissed Ella’s neck.  Ella was torn between being stunned, scared or dismayed.  But her stepmother’s soft lips on her neck gave way to a small moan.

    “Does that feel good?” Stepmother asked between soft kisses. “Or do you want me to stop?”

    “Don’t stop,” Cinderella whispered. “That feels so good.”

    Lady Tremaine climbed on top of her shaking stepdaughter.  She slid one hand under Cinderella’s blond head and the other under her lower back.  She smiled down at Cinderella, who tried to smile back.  She kissed her way down Cinderella’s neck to her collarbone, then slid down Ella’s thin body to her hips.

   “I’m going to make you feel incredible,” Lady Tremaine said as she looked up at her stepdaughter’s pale face. “But if you want me to stop, just say so.”

    Before Ella could respond, her stepmother’s head was under her nightgown.   She felt her underwear slide down her legs.  Then she felt her stepmother’s mouth on her, on the most intimate part of her body.   Stepmother’s lips kissed her swollen clitoris, a soft, gentle kiss.   Her tongue flickered across it, causing Ella to moan.   The flickering increased, became more rapid as Stepmother moved her mouth.   

   Ella bucked up.   Stepmother’s slender but strong fingers held her hips as she began to suck on her clitoris.   It didn’t take long for Ella to come.   Her whole lower body raised off the bed as she shook and trembled.

    Stepmother emerged from between her legs and crawled up her body.   She pulled the shaking girl into her arms.

    “Are you alright?” she asked.

    “Yes,” Cinderella replied, though she was still trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.   She rested her head on her stepmother’s chest and tried to catch her breath.

    “See,” Stepmother said with a slight smirk, “not all touch is bad!”

      Cinderella smiled and hung on to her stepmother even tighter. She knew her days of being treated like a slave were over.


End file.
